White House expected to brief Congress on Syria

With the United States apparently on the verge of launching military strikes in Syria, senior administration officials will brief members of the congressional leadership, as well as the chairmen and top-ranking minority party on national security committees, on the situation Thursday.

Many members of Congress, even some who are inclined to support military action, have expressed a belief that the White House should consult with lawmakers — or even seek authorization — before using military force. Still others are miffed that only a handful of lawmakers are given information about possible acts of war by the United States.

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PHOTOS: Scenes from Syria

“It will take presidential leadership and a clear explanation of our policy, our interests, and our objectives to gain public and Congressional support for any military action against Syria,” House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) wrote to Obama in a letter sent Wednesday.

“After spending the last 12 years fighting those who seek to harm our fellow citizens, our interests, and our allies, we all have a greater appreciation of what it means for our country to enter into conflict. It will take that public support and congressional will to sustain the administration’s efforts, and our military, as well as their families, deserve to have the confidence that we collectively have their backs — and a thorough strategy in place.”

The president has been considering options for an attack that would serve as a reprisal for Syrian President Bashar Assad’s reported use of chemical weapons in his country’s ongoing civil war. White House officials have said that President Barack Obama’s aim in launching strikes, likely as part of an international coalition, would not be to effect regime change.

The Obama administration is promising to share more details with the rest of Congress soon.

“Once our intelligence community has made a formal assessment, we will provide the classified assessment to the Congress, and we will make unclassified details available to the public,” a senior administration official said Wednesday night. “I expect that will occur sometime this week.”